Such a nice tomato salad with lots of delicious dressing for which you will require some crusty bread. You do need to skin the tomatoes but it actually takes no time at all if you follow the instructions below and it allows them to soak up the dressing so don’t be tempted to leave that step out.

Cherry tomato salad with wholegrain mustard – serves 4 to 6

900g cherry tomatoes

50g walnuts, coarsely chopped

FOR THE DRESSING:

small bunch of tarragon

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 heaped tbsp wholegrain Dijon mustard

125ml walnut oil or olive oil

Peel the tomatoes by cutting a slit in the base of each then putting them into a large bowl. Pour over some boiling water from the kettle and immediately drain – the skins should peel of easily.

Keep a sprig of tarragon to garnish and remove the rest of the leaves from the stalks. Coarsely chop the leaves and discard the stalks. Whisk the vinegar and mustard together with some salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil so the dressing thickens slightly, then whisk in the chopped tarragon.

Pour the dressing over the tomatoes, mix gently and taste for seasoning. You can leave at room temperature for a couple of hours at this point. Pile into a salad bowl and sprinkle with the walnuts and the reserved tarragon just before serving.

We picked up an amazing salad book, called Community, on our last trip to Australia which really pushes salad to centre stage. The recipes can all be served as a main course or as a side and they portions are accordingly generous. This one is good but the predominant flavour is honey so if that’s not your thing then perhaps give it a miss. We thought it might be nice with some roast pork.

The honey-roasted walnuts are a nice snack on their own too, so don’t be afraid of making too many.

Wine Suggestion: We went a little left-field for this and opened a Colterenzio Lagrein, a spicy, earthy red from Alto Adige – Südtirol; choose something a little earthy with a little spice and good fruit.

Combine the sweet potato, olive oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin and allspice in a large bowl with some salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender and turning golden.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then simmer the lentils for about 20 minutes or until tender but still with a little bite. Drain.

Whisk together all the ingredients for the sweet vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Stir the vinaigrette through the lentils while they’re still warm.

To prepare the honey-roasted walnuts, combine the honey with the chilli flakes, turmeric, salt and just enough water to make a thick paste. Toss the walnuts in the paste and spread over a baking tray. Roast for 15 minutes or until they are crunchy. They will still be a bit sticky. Watch very carefully after the first 10 minute as they can go from toasted to burnt in seconds.

Combine half the chopped herbs with the rocket, sweet potato and lentils and season well. Scatter over the walnuts, the remaining herbs and the Parmesan before serving.

This is a great winter salad that feeds a crowd and goes really well with lamb. You could also serve on it’s own or with some baked potatoes and leftovers make good lunchboxes. Roast the beetroots earlier in the day so you have very little to do to assemble at the end.

Wine Suggestion: An earthy, lighter bodied red works here and a good Beaujolais, Burgundy/Pinot Noir or Northern Rhône Syrah would be a nice choice. We opened a Loire red made from Cabernet Franc, a Chinon, as we were also barbecuing some lamb to accompany it.

Beetroot & dill with crème fraîche and walnuts – serves 4 to 6

12 beetroots (about 1.5kg), peeled and chopped into 2cm cubes

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic cloves, finely grated

3 scallions, finely sliced

2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves

150g walnuts, toasted in a dry pan, then crumbled

a large handful of dill fronds, finely chopped

FOR THE DILL CRÈME FRAÎCHE

250g crème fraîche

a large handful of dill fronds, finely chopped

juice of ½ lemon

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Tip the beetroot into a large roasting tin and drizzle over the balsamic vinegar & olive oil. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and mix well. Roast until tender. Start checking at about 45 minutes but it could take up to 90 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

For the dill crème fraîche, whisk the crème fraîche with the dill, lemon juice and olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and some black pepper.

Mix the beetroot with the scallions and baby spinach in a large bowl, then add a good drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Fold the dill crème fraîche through the beetroots – a kind of marble effect looks good so toss gently. Top with the roasted walnuts and sprinkle with more dill to serve.

The classic combination of sweet pears and salty ham. This makes a nice winter starter for entertaining guests and you can poach the pears in advance so there’s not too much to do when they arrive.

Wine Suggestion: with the combination of fruity/sweet pear and the salty ham this choice wasn’t immediately obvious, but an inspired guess lead us to Sparkling Moscato. We had a bottle of the Quady Electra, a Moscato from California that danced with this dish but you may find it easier to get a Moscato d’Asti (the most famous region for this style) or a local equivalent. The Moscato is low alcohol, and refreshingly fruity so perfect to start off a lengthy meal.

Put 600ml of water into a saucepan over a medium heat with the sugar, vinegar and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the sugar has dissolved.

Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan but keep a careful eye on them as they turn from golden to blackened in the blink of an eye.

Peel the pears and try to leave the stalks intact. Trim the bases a little so they stand up nicely. Add the pears to the liquid and simmer until tender, turning them over in the liquid now and then. This can take anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes (depending on the size and ripeness of your pears) so you will need to keep a watchful eye. Remove from the liquid and allow to cool, then wrap each one in a slice of ham.

Season the liquid with salt and plenty of black pepper, then boil until it becomes a thick syrup.

Arrange the salad leaves on 4 serving plates. Put a pear on top of each and scatter over the toasted pine nuts. Mix the balsamic syrup with the tablespoon of olive oil and drizzle over the top.

A lovely later summer salad. We used mixed radishes from our garden – red, white and everything in between. Freshly picked they had a wonderful peppery kick that we never seem to get from shop bought radishes.

Watercress, cucumber & radish salad – serves 8

1 cucumber

200g watercress

300g baby radishes, halved if large

FOR THE DRESSING:

6 tbsp natural yoghurt

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic cloves, crushed

1 sprig of dill, leaves only, chopped

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, then season.

Peel the cucumber into long, thin strips using a vegetable peeler. Discard the seedy part.

Toss the watercress, cucumber and radishes together in a serving bowl and toss with the dressing.

A warm main course salad for two with a very spicy dressing. Season the steak well before cooking and serve with some crusty bread.

Wine Suggestion: this dish has a bite with the chipotle so tread carefully and don’t pick a wine that is too dry (white) or tannic (red). A medium bodied, juicy red was our pick with the Giulio Straccali “Galileo” Vino Rosso d’Italia, a multi region blend of Sangiovese, Syrah and Primitivo. This is really clever by playing of the strengths of each grape and is really more than just the sum of its parts. Fresh, juicy, long and complex, especially considering its inexpensive price.

Warm 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy frying man over a medium-high heat. Season the steak generously with salt and black pepper. Fry the steak in the oil, turning once, until both sides are well browned and it is cooked how you like it – we cooked ours for 3 minutes on each side. Remove the steak from the pan and set aside to rest.

Reduce the heat under the frying pan and sauté the garlic for a few minutes. Pour in the beef stock or water and use to deglaze the pan, scraping any sticky bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat off completely and add the chipotle chillies, lime juice and enough olive oil to make a dressing (a few tablespoons). Season to taste.

Cut the steak across the grain into ½ cm thick strips.

Shred the lettuce leaves into bite-sized pieces and tip into a bowl with the spinach, tomatoes, radishes, onion, avocado & coriander. Add the steak and the chipotle dressing. Divide between 2 plates and grate some pecorino cheese over the top.